Geographic Range

Sylvilagus palustris (marsh rabbit) is found in parts of the southeastern United States. Its range includes southeast Virginia, southern Georgia, eastern Alabama, the Florida peninsula, and the islands along the coast of Florida. The subspecies Sylvilagus palustris hefneri is endangered and its range is limited to the lower Florida Keys. Currently the Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina has the largest population of marsh rabbits. ("Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries", 2007; Faulhaber, et al., 2006; Wilson and Ruff, 1999)

Habitat

Marsh rabbits are found in lowland areas, not exceeding 152 meters in elevation. They are found near freshwater marshes and estuarine areas. Marsh rabbits are semi-aquatic and require vegetation near a permanent source of water. (Jones, 1997; Wilson and Ruff, 1999)

Reproduction

Marsh rabbits are promiscuous, mating with multiple partners during the breeding season. Female marsh rabbits tend to be more territorial during this time. Male scrota descend only during the months of sexual activity. (Chapman and Feldhamer, 1982; Jones, 1997)

Marsh rabbits, like all cottontails, have induced ovulation. Pseudo-pregnancy may occur if a female receives stimulus from an infertile male or another female. Pseudo-pregnancy lasts only about half of the time of a normal gestation period, which is typically 28 to 37 days long. Their breeding season is February through September. During a single season a female may have up to four litters. Breeding may occur year round in southern Florida. Marsh rabbits have small litters, with two to four young. Litter reabsorptions, when a pregnancy is aborted and the nutrients of the unborn young are reabsorbed by the female, are uncommon in Sylvilagus palustris due to their small litter sizes. Less time is spent nursing, only about twelve to fifteen days. (Chapman and Feldhamer, 1982; Jones, 1997)

Marsh rabbits are born blind and completely helpless. The young use their legs to crawl at birth, their eyes open in 4 to 5 days. Female marsh rabbits nurse their young until they are independent, at 12 to 15 days old. Nests and young are vulnerable to flooding. Male marsh rabbits are not involved in the care of their young. (Chapman and Feldhamer, 1982; Jones, 1997)

Lifespan/Longevity

Marsh rabbits can live up to four years in the wild, however, most do not live to be a year old. Immature marsh rabbits are most susceptible to predation. There is no available information about life expectancy in captivity. (Jones, 1997)

Communication and Perception

There is little information available on the methods of communication used by Sylvilagus palustris. The closely related species Sylvilagus floridanus and Sylvilagus aquaticus have been studied more intensely. Females charge and leap when in the presence of other marsh rabbits. Males display alert and submissive postures, while also showing a tendency to scratch, mount, and paw rake. (Chapman and Feldhamer, 1982)

Predation

Marsh rabbits are avid swimmers and often dive into water as a means of escape. They are nocturnal, which helps them to avoid detection by diurnal predators. During the day they often hide in dense vegetation for protection. Infant and juvenile marsh rabbits are especially vulnerable to eastern diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus adamanteus) and water moccasins (Agkistrodon piscivorus). The two predator species that have the most impact on populations of S. palustris are marsh hawks and great-horned owls (Bubo virginianus). Other raptors also prey on marsh rabbits, along with bobcats. Historically, red wolves preyed on marsh rabbits. In areas in which red wolves have been reintroduced, marsh rabbits are one of their dominant prey items. ("Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries", 2007; Jones, 1997)

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Marsh rabbits host ticks that carry Rocky Mountain Fever. Marsh rabbits are not known to destroy crops or have any sort of negative impact on human agricultural efforts. (Chapman and Feldhamer, 1982; Jones, 1997)

Negative Impacts

injures humans

carries human disease

Conservation Status

Lower Key marsh rabbits (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) are endangered due to habitat fragmentation. Lower Key marsh rabbits are unevenly distributed throughout the Lower Florida Keys. Conservation efforts include reintroduction efforts. Other subspecies of marsh rabbits may also be effected by habitat fragmentation, although none are currently considered endangered. (Faulhaber, et al., 2006)

Contributors

Glossary

Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

brackish water

areas with salty water, usually in coastal marshes and estuaries.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

cryptic

having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect.

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

folivore

an animal that mainly eats leaves.

freshwater

mainly lives in water that is not salty.

herbivore

An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.

induced ovulation

ovulation is stimulated by the act of copulation (does not occur spontaneously)

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

marsh

marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

nocturnal

active during the night

polygynandrous

the kind of polygamy in which a female pairs with several males, each of which also pairs with several different females.

saltatorial

specialized for leaping or bounding locomotion; jumps or hops.

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sedentary

remains in the same area

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

solitary

lives alone

tactile

uses touch to communicate

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

terrestrial

Living on the ground.

visual

uses sight to communicate

viviparous

reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.

year-round breeding

breeding takes place throughout the year

References

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey. The Rabbits of North America. Washington D.C., USA: Washington Government Printing Office. 1909.

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The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.

This material is based upon work supported by the
National Science Foundation
Grants DRL 0089283, DRL 0628151, DUE 0633095, DRL 0918590, and DUE 1122742. Additional support has come from the Marisla Foundation, UM College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Museum of Zoology, and Information and Technology Services.